Attorney General Michael Mukasey, CC '63 (who taught at the law school as recently as 2006) collapsed last night during a speech in Washington D.C. Towards the end of an address to the Federalist Society, Mukasey began to slur his speech before he collapsed. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where press reports say he is now "conscious, conservant, and alert," though there is no word yet why he fell ill.

UPDATE: Mukasey left the hospital around noon Friday with a "clean bill of health." Doctors ruled out a stroke or cardiac problems as the cause.

Coming soon to 113th Street: McVickar hall, another space for alumni to network...but this time with undergrads!

Just five short years until the 6th and 7th graders at Columbia's Secondary School can get a taste of the big kid Core

The headline "Stale Castlevania Goes Eclectic in Order of Ecclesia" exists, heralds in a new video game

Columbia wins a football game

Alas, some grinches remind us that there's still no money, and, worse still, no paper

Remember American hero and proud Business School alum ('97) Roy Den Hollander? The self-described antifeminist who sued Columbia for failing to offer a "men's studies" course? Whatever, anyway, he's back! And he's suing mad, specifically about ladies' nights at bars because what else?

This month, Hollander is arguing that when nightclubs offer all the ladies reduced-price drinks, they are discriminating. He then went on to conclude that since nightclubs get their liquor licences from the state, it's not only the clubs but New York that is discriminating against him, Roy Den Hollander, and all of his kind.

The lawsuit was dismissed and Hollander called the judge a "feminist." The end.

Freshmen are probably noticing that NSOP slows down the pace of events quite a bit as it moves into the weekend. Bwog thought it would slow things down as well and bring you a round-up of Columbians in the news. We know it's not all national or internation news, but not all of us can be presidential candidates.

• President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia remains closely allied to the United States despite continual pressure from Russia.
• Tim Horrigan CC '69 is running for New Hampshire State representative. For more background on him, check out his Netscap-era website.
• The Buffalo News profiles Dan Foote CC '85, who is currently on diplomatic mission to Iraq.
• Future alum/current 2010er Raphael Graybill was in Denver this past week as the youngest member of Montana's delegation.

Hey jobless alumni, why so glum? With your Columbia degree, the world is at your fingertips: first phone sex operating ("executive stress relief"), and now digital entrepreneurship. Bwog caught up with Kareem Shaya, former Fed editor-in-chief and inventor of famous website Send Barack Your Baby, which lately has gotten all sorts of attention from the rest of the internet, namely Gawker and CNN.

The website provides an opportunity for parents to ship their children in boxes to Illinois so that they might be kissed by a certain other Columbia grad. Except it doesn't actually, which is why the slideshow of Obama-supporting babies features no baby-in-box pictures, to remind us it's only a joke and that babies can't even vote.

One newsanchor in the CNN video also cautions us not to send an actual infant but "if you do, be sure to use bubble wrap." At which point she suffocates a doll with bubble wrap and sticks it in a carboard box. Mazel Tov Kareem!

The New York Times is reporting that the J-School received a 5 million-dollar gift today from one Mr. Leonard Tow, a Columbia grad whom the Times identifies as "a former chief executive of Citizens Communications, and Century Communications" as well as a philanthropist -- and how!

Tow is hoping that his $5 million will aid J-Schoolers in figuring out how to save the dying newspaper business by attaining Internet-savvy. (Hint: stop printing newspapers on paper.) Tow also explains that he was annoyed at Harvard and its fancy "Internet institute" because it was much better than Columbia at teaching grad students how to publish things online.

Tow also donated $3 million to the CUNY J-School to create the Tow Center for Journalistic Innovation, which will focus on research and development. Funds at Columbia will be centered around training J-Schoolers in "digital media." What exactly can 5 million buy these days? Accoring to J-School dean Nicholas B. Lemann: "two professors in new media" and "a curriculum that may include data-driven reporting and software design for news organizations."

According to Editor & Publisher, CUNY will have to match the donation through fund raising in order to receive it. Columbia will have to do the same, but it will have to double Tow's donation and fund raise $10 million.

If you've been a little sour on dear Alma Mater lately, an anonymous Bwog informant has just stumbled upon something to restore your faith in your degree and your Columbia.

This gal's a CU grad -- just like many of you! (Go Lions!) She majored in Anthropology. And also like many of you, she loves to just gab away on the telephone, except her telephone conversations are infinitely more lucrative and sexy (?) than yours:

"Men call me for an infinity of reasons. Of course, they call to masturbate. I call it 'Executive Stress Relief.' It's not sex; it's a cocktail of testosterone, fueled by addiction to pornography, loneliness, and the need to hear a woman's voice."

See? Plus, there's hope for those of you questioning the worth of your English/Anthro/Philosophy/Comp. Lit. degree:

"I make twice the money I made in the corporate world. I work from home, the money transfers into my bank account daily. I'm Scheherezade: If I don't tell stories that fascinate the Pasha, he will kill me in the morning."

Ha! Hear that econ. majors? Twice the money and 100% more phone sex.

Bwog daily editor Mariela Quintana takes you inside yet another '68 retrospective, this time a reading featuring Columbia writers who were there when the protests happened.

Of the four events I've attended that commemorate the 1968 protests, not one has started on time. From all the socializing and incessant chattering that precedes each lecture, it's clear that these aging activists are desperate for a chance to catch up, reminisce and revive the waning spirit of '68. To an outside observer, the commemoration too often loses sight of its historical and social mission and instead tends towards an intimate, if not insular, college reunion--the likes of which these anti-establishment hexagenarians wouldn't deign to attend.

But last night's reading, entitled "Voices of 1968," offered this jaded Gen-Yer insight into what the protestors felt at the time of the event and what they feel now. The reading was most penetrating when authors exposed their struggles, their effort to pick themselves up out the wake of the protests, grow up and move on. As the poets and authors made clear, moving on proved difficult because it required accepting their moment in history had ended.

Reed dropped out of school and was on the lam for more than a year before she was arrested on Saturday on charges of fraud and identity theft. Henson—who has been missing for nearly eight years—is still missing.

While at Columbia, Reed is believed to have nabbed $100 grand of financial aid. CU administration has admitted that she was enrolled up until last year, but did not provide any details.

Hats off to childrens author Jon Scieszka (interviewed by Bwog here), MFA '80, who has been named the first national ambassador of young people's literature! Apparently it's like a poet laureate for kids. Mr. Scieszka, as lifelong Stinky Cheese Man fans, you are an alumnus who makes Bwog proud.

And a kick in the shins for actor, economist, and former presidential speechwriter Ben Stein (interviewed by The Blue and White here), CC '66, who has made a completely bizarre movie bemoaning a stated lack of freedom to talk about creationism in schools. Mr. Stein, you are an alumnus who makes Bwog ashamed--how dare you treat Richard Dawkins so.

- thanks to Jason Patinkin for the tips

Congratulations to Vikram Pandit, who is about to go from exceedingly loaded to unbelievably loaded. Pandit is a triple Columbia alumnus, having earned both bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering in the 70s before selling out to get a PhD in finance in 1986. Yesterday, he was named CEO of Citigroup, a company worth approximately a shitmegaton of cash. Earlier this year Pandit sold Citigroup a hedge fund, Old Lane Partners, for a cool $800 million; now he is once again is in control of his old company, along with a laundry list of unbelievably huge assets including the bank inside Lerner. And he's still on Columbia's Board of Trustees. Tao Tan has a long way to go.

In other news, Harvard is making sure the fairly well-off can keep up with the truly moneyed. For families making between $120,000 and $180,000, costs will be hewed in twain! Other "elite institutions" are expected to jump on the bandwagon. Will Columbia put its money where its mouth is?

Whether or not it does, you can still pretend to be elite on New Year's eve. The Columbia Club is offering tickets to a veritable swankfest at the classy Opus 22 lounge downtown. According to Newsday, it's where to go if you're looking for "smart, young energy," and for only $135 a ticket if you buy by Friday, it's practically a steal. Alumni from Yale, Cornell, Princeton, Penn, and Brown will also be there, so you can get your inter-Ivy network on along with your party.

And if you're a foreign affairs newshound or doing work-study at the Harriman Institute, you'd immediately know that that person is Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, Law '94 and member of an alleged "'Columbia Club of Post-Soviet leaders." While the real Columbia club is still a tenant of our much hated and intellectually sub-standard rivals at Princeton, the fake Eastern European one isn't taking guff from anybody--especially not from democratic opposition movements.

But Saakashvili's Columbia education hasn't gone totally to waste. In a move practically unprecedented in the history of post-Soviet despotism (and feel free to prove us wrong on this one, Area Studies majors), Saakashvili is shrewdly giving in to the protesters' demands and calling new elections for this coming January. So now he's both feared and loved, even by some of the same people. Package deal!

For this simultaneously brilliant and reprehensible political maneuvering, Columbia's own would-be Musharraf is Bwog's first ever Alumni Who Makes Bwog Both Ashamed Lets Bwog Down and Proud. Congratulations?

EDIT: Right you are, commenter! Looks like Columbia alumni have given us fewer opportunities for scolding, in fact so few that we temporarily forgot the name of our own feature. Good job not letting down, alums!

-ARR

Finally! Joseph Ratzinger, better known as Pope Benedict XVI, made the announcement today: Archbishop John P. Foley, Journalism '66, will be one of 23 new cardinals in November. According to the International Herald Tribune, Foley had "long been considered a candidate" for the job. At the fresh young age of 72, he's eligible to vote for pope for the next eight years.

Foley had been known for his work in Pope John Paul II's Communications Department (well, technically it's a pontifical council), and is currently serving as Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Not the most progressive bishop, Foley has run into trouble for his comments on the ordination of women (against) and AIDS (a "natural sanction for certain types of activities.") On the other hand, he did make technological progress: Alvin Snyder called him "The Roone Arledge of the Vatican" for his work getting the Pope on TV.

But enough about Foley as a pilate. What manner of man is he? Contrary to Columbia tradition, Foley says he's a teetotaler, but makes up for his avoidance of alcohol with his love of chocohol. As he told Nestle executives, he's an avid fan of advertisement, saying that good advertisement is "among the best communication being done in the world today." As a youth, he was inspired by the book You Can Change the World, and as a teenager, enjoyed writing radio plays. Today, he has more of a senior pastime: getting up at 6:00 in the morning to watch CNN (so that he can "know what to pray about.")

- DHI

Wish you were in Paris right now? Bwog foreign correspondent Sumaiya Ahmed reports on Columbia's big weekend in the City of Lights.

This weekend, Columbia students in Paris were treated to another sort of World Leaders Forum organized by the Columbia Alumni Association. The three day affair included Nobel laureate and 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan as the keynote speaker, as well as Columbia professors Orhan Pamuk, Joseph Stiglitz, Jeffrey Sachs, David J. Helfand, and President Lee C. Bollinger.

Saturday featured a full day of panels on globalization, arts, and the media at La Bourse, the historic site of the Paris Stock Exchange. The first panel, "A Critical Look at Today's Media" touched on a number of issues, such as how journalism has changed under the Bush administration. The moderator, Graduate School of Journalism Dean Nicholas Lemann described the current administration as "post-modernists of the right" who refuse to trust journalists, and recalled that Karl Rove had once written to a colleague that "the press is just another interest group."

Sick of hearing about Ahmadinejad? Of course you are! But watch this anyway.

And are you sick of real estate tycoons conspiring with major universitites in order to mind-control unsuspecting students using electromagnetic satellites? Then you, my paranoid friend, have something in common with a former SIPA student who has spent the past week spamming dozens of news outlets with a "Letter to President Bollinger."

Writes former American Prospect staffer and blogger David Maxwell Fine:

"In your introduction of the President of Iran you said, 'Lastly, in universities (sic), we have a deep and almost single-minded commitment to pursue the truth.'

The truth happens to be that these satellite-broadcast advanced electromagnetic technologies that can control human anatomy and physiology are secretly influencing
our world in many ways today, up to the highest levels, and have been for decades."

The culprit? Why who else but New York real estate magnate Robert Tishman, the criminal mastermind behind these "advanced satellite electromagnetic technologies which can control human anatomy, physiology, and the brain."

Far be it for us to poke fun at this obviously-distressed (or, conversely, comedically ingenious) individual. We nevertheless note, in all seriousness, that this is probably the most cogent analysis of last week's events that Bwog has come across.

-ARR